Demon Blood
by Terrence Fan
Summary: [First Hercules series fic] After being separated from Pain by a storm, Panic finds himself stranded on an island. Then he meets another demon by the name of Dante. Little does Panic know Dante is more than a friendly face.
1. Prologue

Demon blood

By Terrence Fan

Warning: Fanfic contains cursing, gore and violence. Not for little kids. ;)

**Prologue**

_In a time just before ancient Greek..._

Across the long sea, was an island, which not too many people knew of. But it has been there for nearly centuries, as for the people who lived there in small villages, straw and wooden houses in neat rows of at least four or five, dirt roads and paths flooded with many of the adults working just about every single day. And the little children scampering in the paths along with tiny puppies freely running along with the children now and then.

To the people, the island, their home, was called Eikcaj (although it's pronounced "ee-sha", with a silent "j"). Even though almost every day is a very busy day for the villagers who lived there, it was still a peaceful place, and has been that way for as long as they could remember

But for any peaceful village, will soon come a horrific end, from such evil that has spread terror from one place to another, nearly went half way across the world, it is been giving so many names by those who feared him, such as "the hell beast". Despite the names people call it, the beast already named himself, "Dante".

Nobody knows where Dante came from, though a lot have believed that he might've been spawned from hell itself, although it was a ridiculous exaggeration to some.

He was a demon that resembled the size and structure of a dragon, long horns on his head pointed backwards, and slightly curved, yellow eyes with red iris' that glowed like fire and burned into the souls of whoever looked into them, razor sharp teeth that pierced the flesh and bones of many, but even though he was almost unstoppable, his reign of terror would come to an end, sooner than he thought.

The day of Eikcaj's near end, started out as any regular bright, and cheerful, day. It was a very warm and sunny afternoon, but not too hot. While the adults were at work, the little kids played and lied on the grassy hills to soak up the sun. It usually wasn't that warm on the island, it wasn't too cold, either, but was rarely ever humid outside, whenever it got warm enough to wear mostly shorts, skirts, or short dresses would be the perfect day to go outside and enjoy the sun. Even on rare occasions, during the summer, there would be scorching days, that would be enough to stay out of the sun and hide in the shades.

On this day, will be the last the people of Eikcaj will ever enjoy the sun ever again. As soon as the sun was sinking in over head, the adults returned to their straw and wooden homes after a hard day of work, and some of the children came home just before their parents, while a few stayed out to play some more. It was close to night fall, the heat had faded away and the air was cold. One little girl, in a white woolen dress scampered off past the woods, when she reached out of the woods onto the grassy field beyond the woods and the villages. She did cart wheels down the hill, at the bottom she landed flat on her back. Afterwards she got up, walked over to the beach shore, kneeled down, and began to draw shapes and animals in the sand with a near by twig.

Then, out of nowhere, a huge dark shadow cast over her and the drawings in the sand, she looked up to see a black figure with wings, a long tail and a narrow head fly over her. As she continued to stare at whatever it was, it began to slow down to a stop in mid air, then the little girl could see it come closer, when she saw the terrifying features of the creature, which happened to be Dante, she ran straight towards the woods, hoping to avoid the beast through the thick trees and bushes, but when she looked behind her into the orange sunset sky, the demonic creature was still soaring after her. She continued dashing through the woods, panting heavily now, she only needed to get away, to her mother for safety.

When she jumped through some bushes and twigs, she finally reached the village, now if only she can get to her home.

"Mother!" She cried out, when her house was in sight.

She ran into the path into the path of houses till she got to her house. Her mother was busy with supper, then her daughter burst through the doorway, crying a little and screaming as she ran to her mother, hugging her mother's hips in fear. Sinking her head into her mom's dress.

"What is it, Catherine?" Her mother asked.

"There was a monster chasing me!" Catherine responded, face soaked in tears.

"Monster? What monster?" Asked her mother, again.

"I saw it back at the beach and in the woods," said Catherine. "It's out there, I'll show you". She tugged her mom's wrist and pointed through the doorway and outside. The mother screamed as Dante emerged from the woods and into the village.

A few other people other people came out of their houses to see what all the panic was about. When they got a sight of Dante already smashing houses and had even started a small fire, they screamed as well and began to run away from their houses and avoid the spreading flames.

At the other village, the people there could see it all. The first village engulfed in flames, the small houses crumbling to the ground, and the dragon-like beast stomping across, scooping up people in his claws.

One man climbed to the top of the small bell tower, and banged on the bell with a large stick repeatedly, the deep ringing echoing across the village. A lot of the soldiers there gathered their armor, spears, and crossbows, put on their helmets and armor, they didn't have really strong armor back then, but it was enough for them, then marched towards the burning village.

As they approached the wretched monster, they began to shoot arrows at Dante, but the arrows only did much as poke him, he turned his head at the rather surprised soldiers and grinned. He then swatted them all away with his left claw, and slammed his giant hand on them.

This was all a complete joke to him to him, all those pathetic little humans were nothing more but insects to him, he had already beaten soldiers and warriors of all kind in measly a heartbeat. He chuckled at how easily he had crushed all the soldiers and the first village, but he didn't want to destroy every human there, after all, he needed something to eat after flying for so long.

But now, he had to move quickly to destroy the last village and get a small bite to eat. As he moved past the houses, that were now scorched in flames, a sudden yell echoed throughout the village to catch Dante's attention.

Dante turned to see what fool would dare even think of opposing him. There, on a tall wooden house, that hadn't suffered from the fire just yet, was a man, wearing nothing but a robe and a head dress that covered nearly his entire face, except for his nose and his eyes, his dull brown eyes. Then he removed part of his head dress to reveal his bright peach skin and dusty blonde hair that was almost shoulder length.

The wicked beast just paused for a moment to wonder who this little pest thought he was, and what possible threat he may pose to him.

The man pulled out a a crossbow and two arrows from the sack hanging around his back, and two small clay jars from his from his sack as well, muttering some kind of religious words, or something, while pouring black powder from one jar on the sharp tip of the arrow, then took another jar and poured faint blue slime onto the same arrow and on the second arrow, just in case. Now he was ready, he grabbed the first arrow and pulled it against the string on the crossbow, and aimed it towards Dante, on eye closed, focusing on the target.

As bored as he was with this pathetic moron, Dante charged forward, with his claw reached out to crush the human. But at that moment, the man released the arrow on his crossbow, and fired at Dante. He shrieked in pain when the arrow went right into the palm of his huge claw. How could a simple arrow hurt so much? Never had he felt such a burning pain from something like this. He'd taken hits from arrows before, and they never hurt this much, to him.

The intense burning was spreading from his palm to his whole arm, his entire upper body, and soon he felt the unbearable pain all over, he tried pulling the arrow out, but, no avail, it was too short and thin. He gritted his sharp teeth and moaned in pain, then he realized that the environment around him was getting larger. No, it wasn't getting bigger, he was becoming smaller. He cried out in anger and pain as he shrank.

Suddenly, the pain had finally gone away, he opened his eyes and saw that now, he had gone from the size of a stone castle to the height of an average dog. His wide and beautiful wings weren't as long anymore, they barely seemed big enough to carry him. Now, all he had were short stubby legs and arms, long ears, and horns that weren't long as they used to be, that resembled a goat's. He was no longer a giant monster that nearly everyone feared, but an almost powerless, little demon.

The man walked over to the new Dante, coming out of the smoke and ashes, with the arrow with the tip stained with the blue slime. He slowly approached the demon.

"I see the spell has worked successfully," The dusty blonde said to Dante. "Incase you're wondering, that spell was more of a eternal curse that will keep you in that form forever. And, I even put in an extra treat, you can't leave this island, either. That way, you will never threaten mankind ever again." Dante's eyes widened from this discovery.

He raised the arrow over his shoulder. "Now," He continued, "Just one stab in the heart, and I'll send you back to hell!".

Just as he was about to stab Dante, the little demon leapt forward, pinning him to the ground, fortunately the little guy still had some strength in him, he began scratching and clawing at his throat, even biting into it, cutting up his neck. He may be a small demon now, but he still had his sharp claws and teeth.

The man, on his back, was gasping for air. He looked up into the horrid demon's eyes, he felt Dante's evil pierce through his soul. Dante stood on the man's chest, laughing psychotically, he could see his terrifying features. Dante then grabbed the arrow from the blonde's hand.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Did you really think you could take me down that easily?" Dante chuckled, in a menacing tone. "I don't care if I never leave this shit hole of an island again, or not ever kill anyone again, at least I got one last victim, and meal, to last me long enough... You."

The dusty blonde cried out, "NO!"

With a final blow to the chest, Dante ended the blonde, for good.

"Bye bye, fucker..." Dante said to the now dead man, his face and claws stained with blood.

Both villages had burnt to the ground, and the last human living there, was now gone. But that wasn't at all what was bothering Dante, not only has he become powerless, but he can't ever leave. And just when he tried to, it felt like invisible chains were holding him back. All because of that fucking bastard. He wondered what he should do to the dead man's corpse, hang it and let it rot, or eat most of it up and save the rest for later. Dante looked around around the black, charcoal remains of the village, and spotted a slightly burnt wooden crucifix. Before, he wanted to burn it up completely, to show how he mocked god, but now he had a better idea. Dante grabbed the giant cross, dragged the dead corpse to the grassy hill near the beach, stuck the crucifix in the ground, then grabbed the corpse, flew up and used the arrow he used to kill him to pin his hand to the left part of the cross, then tied his right hand to the other side with some robe from the man's sack.

After sticking the dead man onto the crucifix, he decided to dig around his sack as well, to see if there might've been something that could help him, he pulled out a knife, which he grinned at, and ran his sharp thumb across the end of the blade. He wondered how the hell he got a knife so sharp and beautiful as this in this dump of an island. He shook it off, and continued looking through the sack, he found both a small blank journal and a large brown book of spells, perhaps this could help him. He flipped through the pages to see how the hell he could break this god damn curse.

He then looked to his right, and saw a stone well not too far from him, and with a flat circular rock on top of the opening. Dante wondered what was down there, for some reason, so he went over, pushed the rock off of the well, and went down, to see that inside the well, was a large cave, dark, a little damp, but a perfect home for him.

In the cave, he reopened the book of spells, and searched through it to see how he can fix a curse. Finally, he stopped on one page that told of how to release the curse, the next page told of how to break it. _This is it,_ he thought. _My ticket off this island and back to my normal self._

The way to break the curse, was to chant the words in the book, and he needed some potions along with it, but that was no problem, there were plenty of stuff in the man's sack that could help him, but, there was one problem, one thing he needed to ensure him turning back to normal, and that was the blood of another demon.

Dante couldn't believe it, that's what it took to turn him back to normal? Where on earth was he going to find demon blood? He was, after all, alone on the island, and he could never leave, anyway. Dante grew enraged by this. The bastard made an impossible cure for the curse, just to screw with him. When he looked for a way to cure the other curse, part of the page was ripped out. This only made Dante more furious.

All alone, Dante sat in the dull cave, with the book, deep in both anger and disappointment. He glanced over at the corpse on the crucifix, and wondered, _how will I ever get out of here?_

His fate and future was at stake, and his only way out was through the blood of another demon. God, he had to get out of this, he didn't want to end, not like this. But what could he do? He's pretty much powerless, and there's nowhere to go for him. He might as well face it, it's all over for him.

_No_, he thought_. It's not over yet... There is a way..._


	2. Chapter 1

**Demon blood**

**Chapter 1**

_During Greek time_

Down in the Underworld, after an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Hercules, Hades sat at his table with a map and small figures he'd use while scheming. Being bored, he played around with the little figures, frustrated from constantly loosing against Hercules, the one thing that always interferes with his plans to overthrow Mount. Olympus.

"What do I have to do to get rid of this guy?" Hades mumbled to himself.

He remembered how close he was to Mount. Olympus when he used the pool of forgetfulness on the other gods, but Hercules had to get in the way of that. If only he had gotten Hercules to forget.

"Wait, I got it!" Hades said, snapping his fingers together, as an idea came to his head. "I should've thought of this a long time ago. I'll get Herc' to forget who he is, and finish him once and for all!"

It was perfect, he thought. Then he called in his minions. "Pain, Panic, get over here!"

"Coming!" The two imps responded as they ran over to their master.

When Pain and Panic stopped in front of Hades, he said, "Boys, I got a job for you. Get some water from the pool of forgetfulness, and make sure Hercules gets it. Then, take care of him, permanently. You think you can do that?"

"You got it, Hades," Pain said, both of them saluted. "But just one thing: How?"

"I don't know. Do whatever can, get creative, I just want you to get the job done!" Hades ordered them. Pain and Panic ran off immediately.

After they got some of the water from the pool of forgetfulness into a large dull brown vase, they flew off to where Hercules' school was, they had just gotten to Athens, hopefully they would find him there, or where some of his usual hang outs were, if they could get out of the storm. It was raining so hard, nobody would be dumb enough to go out in such weather. But, of course, they were, just to follow Hades' orders. The wind was so strong that it nearly blew them off coarse, and almost blinding them a few times.

"Hades sure picked the perfect time to send us out, and in this kind of weather." Panic complained.

"Don't worry, pal. As soon as we finish the job, we'll be out of here," Pain told Panic. "Besides, it's not like it couldn't get any worse."

Then suddenly, a flash of lightning brightened the sky for a second, and a loud sound of thunder came from the distance and startled Panic, he let out a shriek, being startled he clung onto Pain, nearly dropped the large vase holding the water, luckily Pain held onto it tight enough before it could spill even a drop.

"Panic, it's all right, calm down!" Pain said, putting an arm around Panic's shoulder to comfort him, and trying to hold onto the vase. Panic settled down quick, having his arms around Pain.

The wind became stronger and stronger each minute, and before any of them knew it a big gust of wind came like a tornado, they turned to their left to see it come fast, trying to hold onto each other, it proved no use, within a minute, they were being torn apart from each other from the storm, they were loosing grip on each other's wrists. With one last cry, their hands finally slipped, both were pulled away by the wind, even trying to fly back to each other, their wings didn't have enough strength to fight the storm. He watched as Pain was blown away, trying to reach out to him, as he was, too. It passed by too quick, the rest was just a blur, he blacked out afterwards.

Panic awakened, somewhere on what appeared to be a beach shore line. He first got a glimpse of the bright sunlight and the clear blue sky. He had a small headache for some reason. _Probably__ because I landed on my head,_ he thought. _But, where am I?..._

He got up and walked across the beach till he got to the bottom of a grassy hill, he scanned the environment, to the left he saw an old well from a not too far distance, looking upward he could see a little bit of the wooded area behind the small hill. Then quickly realizing, he looked around him in a panic to see the large vase he carried with Pain was gone.

_Damn, I__ must've lost it in the storm_, Panic thought to himself. Then a small heart ache came to him when he remembered loosing Pain as well. He felt his eyes swell up with tears for some reason.

"Pain," that name had escaped his lips, he tried not to cry, putting his hands together, twiddling with his thumbs together as he felt a small tear come from his left eye down his cheek. How he wished he knew where Pain could be. Was he okay? What if he got hurt, or worse... Panic sniffed a little, putting his hand over one eye to stop crying.

"Are you okay?"

Panic stopped crying, he wiped a tear from his eye and turned to his left to see a small dark colored creature with horns on his head and large ears, no bigger than him, standing just a few feet from him, arms crossed.

"I said, 'are you okay?'" The creature said, again. Panic did not answer him, he kept asking himself who he was, and what he was. He seemed a lot like him, but just some slightly different features. His eyes were yellow, but with red iris', he might've been a little taller than him on two legs, he appeared to be both bipedal and quadruped, only his back legs had hoofs, his tail was long and thin like his, but it didn't have devilish triangle for the tip, it looked just like a lion's almost. "Not much of a talker, are ya?"

Again, Panic just continued to stare at him, till he finally spoke a little irritated. "What do you want?"

"Hey, where are your manners? I was only trying to help." He said to Panic, walking over to him. Panic noticed his jagged teeth when he smiled at him.

Panic's only response was, "You can help by telling me which way I need to go-"

"Sorry, can't do," The creature interrupted.

"Why not?"

"Because, I already tried leaving, more than once, and I nearly got lost every time, I'd always end up right back to where I started."

"Really?" Panic asked, rather sarcastically. He didn't believe a thing this thing told him.

"If you don't believe me, try it for yourself, but it'll just get you nowhere." Panic wanted to leave already, but he was afraid of getting lost, and never finding Pain. He just sighed and sat on the grass, arms crossed, pouting in frustration. The creature seemed to notice this, he bent down and asked Panic in concern, "What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?" Panic asked him.

"Because," He said. "I thought that if your going to be here for while, I might as well know who you are." He smiled friendly at Panic. Panic thought he was right, in a way, he might as well tell him.

"Panic," He said. "What's yours?"

"Panic?" The creature asked. "What kind of name is that?"

"My name," Panic said. "What kind of name do _you_ have?

"Dante's my name." He told Panic.

Without nothing else to say, Panic asked, "So, do you live here by yourself?"

"Yeah," Dante answered. "All by myself..."

"Oh," Panic said, feeling almost sorry for Dante. Living by himself, with nowhere to go, and with no one else, but he snapped out of it quickly.

"Um, you would want to take a look around the island with me, would you? I could show you around." Dante asked nervously, scratching the back of his head. He looked at Panic with hope in his eyes. A faint pink blush came across his face, Panic noticed.

Panic smiled nervously. "Sure,"

A cheerful look came upon Dante's face. It had been so long since he had been this happy, nor had he had company this long, either. He was already taking an interest in Panic, he hadn't met anyone like him before.

"So," Dante added awkwardly, "Tell me about yourself, Panic. Where are you from?"

As he opened his eyes, Pain glanced around to see Panic wasn't with him, and worse yet was that the vase that had carried the water was broken, now there were just a few pieces of it. He picked up one of the small pieces that were scattered on the ground, and held it with his thumb and fingers.

"This is just perfect." He mumbled to himself angrily.

Checking to see where he was, he found himself on a grassy cliff, with a few trees in sight, and downhill were many Greek structures and pillars he recognized, a statue of the titan Prometheus with the eagle pecking at him, Pain remembered that place, him and Panic had been there before once. It was the Prometheus academy, the high school Hercules goes to. _Oh great_, Pain thought to himself, _Im finally here, but no waters of forgetfulness... _

As he was thinking to himself, he heard a familiar voice behind him that got his heart pounding in surprise and fear.

"Pain? What's one of Hades' minions doing here?"

He whipped around to see Hercules, right in front of him, and his friends Cassandra and Icarus, some distance away. Pain so badly wanted to at least fight Hercules, but here wasn't the right place, nor was it the best time, he could fight Hercules another day, first he has to find Panic. He knew what he had to do.

"I'd kick your ass, Herc, but I got better things to do! But... I'll be back." Pain said angrily at Hercules. With that, he flew off to wherever Panic could be. Hercules just stood there confused.

"What was_ that _all about?" Hercules asked.

"Beats me," Icarus shrugged, sitting next to Cassandra on the stone porch. Just at that moment, Cassandra went into a trans. as she was having another one of her visions of the future.

"I see a knife," Cassandra said, as she saw the future in her eyes. "Lots of blood, everywhere. I see a dark, powerful demon, and another in pain. I see so many people dying..." She gasped at the horrible images in her head.

Icarus noticed she was frightened by what she saw in her vision. "Everything all right, honey?" He asked. That was a stupid question. "What did you see?"

"Just the usual horrible, gruesome kind of thing," Cassandra answered. "But, it was so bloody and violent, and what was weird was that I saw one of Hades' minions getting stabbed..."

"You work for Hades, huh? I bet it's really exciting." Dante said, as he and Panic flew together, above the trees, in the bright blue sky, holding hands while talking. They weren't really flying too fast, they just glided along the air. Dante was only giving Panic a little tour across his home.

"Yeah," Panic responded. "It's okay, but a real pain in the ass most of the time. Im just glad I don't have to work alone."

"Sounds rough," Dante said. "But, you know what Panic? You're really lucky to at least have someone by your side, who sticks by you no matter what..." He began sound more mopey as he thought about it. He looked away, trying not to weep.

Panic tried to comfort him. "Don't worry," He said in a sympathetic voice.

"Im sorry," Dante apologized, focusing back onto Panic. "It's just... I uh..."

"It's okay, really," Panic told Dante. "I understand."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Dante smiled, then turned his head forward. Panic looked around him to catch a sight of the beautiful island he was exploring, then looked at Dante, noticing that he was rather handsome, he saw part of the sun blocked behind him, a little bit of light shone past him, it was definitely a pretty sight. But, coming to his senses, he took is attention off of Dante for a second, and remembered that he didn't want to go swoon over someone else while Pain was gone. He still missed him, so much.

His attention was drawn away to the ground, Panic saw what looked like the charred remains of what appeared to be a village. "What happened there?" Panic asked.

"Oh, that? Well, you see," Dante told Panic, "People used to live here, but someone ended up murdering everyone, and there was an accident which burned everyone and, nearly, everything to the ground."

It didn't make much of sense to Panic for some reason. "How did you survive?"

"Me? Well, I found a way..." Dante replied. He didn't really sound all too honest to Panic, at first. As if he was hiding something from him, but what?

The sun was setting over the horizon, creating a beautiful bright orange scenery in the sky. Both Panic and Dante were sitting on a grassy hill, watching the sun hide behind the ocean in the distance. Dante turned to look at the skinny teal demon who sat beside him.

"Hey Panic," Dante spoke. Panic looked at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Panic replied.

"If Hades beats up you and Pain so much, how do you recover so quickly?" Dante asked.

Panic appeared a little confused by Dante's question, but he sort of got what he meant. "What?"

"You know," Dante explained, "What are you?"

"Well, me and Pain aren't mortals exactly..."

"So what are you?" The dark colored demon asked him.

"We're imps,"

"Yeah, I know that, but what species are you?" Dante continued to ask.

"Demons, I guess..."

Dante's eyes widened in surprise of Panic's answer. There was a short pause between them before Dante began to speak. "A demon, you say?"

"Yeah," Panic answered. "Why do you ask?"

Again, Dante hesitated for a second. "Nothing, it's just-Im a demon, too."

"You don't say," Panic said almost cheerfully. He and Pain hadn't many demons, for what seemed like to them, forever. The black demon only nodded in response.

That night, when Dante invited Panic to sleep in one part his cave in the well for the night, where he wouldn't spot the crucifix--he was afraid he would start asking too many questions--Panic was asleep, while Dante sat in the dim corner, writing in a journal he kept with him since the day he was cursed, using a feather where the end was stained with a black substance he used to write, it was primitive, but useful. This night, he was both excited and at the same time upset, filled with mixed feelings. He wrote all his thoughts down in the journal:

_I can't believe it, Im finally going to be free in no time, after all these years, but I can't harm the one I love. Sure, I only met him for a day, but I've gotten to know him, and I just can't harm him. But I can't stand it anymore, I've been going insane__ since I came here, I've cried nearly every night from the isolation in this fucking hell hole! besides Im going to have to tell him sooner or later, and even if I didn't, he'd figure it out eventually. But I promised myself I would find a way out. Maybe..__. Maybe I'll earn his trust and spend a day or two with him before I have to kill him. After all, I need another demon's blood, and he's just what Im looking for. Oh god, my first love and only love I've ever had, and I'll have to kill him or never see him__ again! But I love him, I don't to lose him just yet. No matter, I finally got the key to my freedom and power I've been waiting for decades. I will always love him, no matter what... Nothing will ever change that._

He closed up the large journal and hid it behind some jars in that corner. He looked over his shoulder, seeing Panic in a deep slumber. Curled up almost like a cat. Smiling, he walked over, placed a hand on Panic's shoulder, and cuddled up to him, he could feel the rise and fall of Panic's body as he breathed. Then he lay beside him, sighing, dozing off to sleep very quickly. He wanted to enjoy this moment... While it would last.


	3. Chapter 2

**Demon Blood**

**Chapter II**

It was sunrise, Dante was the first to awaken. He flew out of the cave, through the well, and stood by the beach side, wondering if it was the right time; but for what? To hurt Panic or tell him the truth. He wasn't at all sure by this, still, Dante just kept staring off at the lovely sunrise.

When lost in his thoughts, he heard Panic talking to him from behind. He must've just woken up.

"Hey Dante," The black demon quickly turned around to face Panic as soon as he spoke. "Pretty sight, isn't it?" He walked towards where Dante was standing.

"It sure is," Dante agreed. Now it was the time to talk to him, but Dante was hesitant to speak; he bit his lower lip before he began to say something.

"Panic..." He finally said.

"Yeah?"

"You really my friend, aren't you?" Dante asked the skinny teal demon.

"Well, sure," Panic answered. "You were nice enough to let me stay here. Why do you ask?"

It took a while for Dante to answer. "What I mean is... You would still be my friend no matter what. Right?" Panic didn't answer that time. "Wouldn't you?" The other demon asked, again. This time, with a worried look on his face.

"Yes," Panic responded, in an assuring voice. "I promise. No matter what. Friends until the end." He smiled at Dante; the dark demon smiled back as well. But what Panic said next broke Dante's smile, into a disappointed frown.

"Why don't you come with me, Dante?"

There wasn't much to say, he tried to think of something to say, but barely anything came to mind. But, he finally was able to say something. "What?.."

"What do you mean 'What'?" Panic asked him back. "I mean, come with me, off of here, that way I can get back to the Underworld, and you can come with me, if you want. But, I don't know what Hades would say about that."

Dante felt pressure in his guts, and an uneasy feeling inside him, he breathed quickly, trying to prevent himself from crying. "No," He said, shaking his head. "I can't..."

Panic was a somewhat confused. "Why not?"

"I just can't!" Dante exclaimed again. "Why can't you stay here?"

"Because, I have to get back to the Underworld and Pain. I can't stay here forever." Try as he did, Dante couldn't accept it. He didn't want Panic to leave him. Ever.

Panic began to walk off, but Dante quickly grabbed his wrist, tightly, stopping him from taking another step. "What's wrong with you?" Panic asked him, frustrated.

"Just don't leave me, dammit!" Dante raised his voice. He was both sad and angry as he yelled at the other.

Still, Panic attempted to leave as he flew off, with the black demon still clinging onto his wrist. Just when he was a few feet off the ground and away from the island, a strong force held him back, he realized it must've been Dante, but it was too strong to be him. He tried flying even harder, and Dante had lost grip on Panic's hand at that moment, but luckily, had grabbed onto his waist before Panic could get away.

"You care to explain what this is all about!" Panic demanded.

He had to tell him now, it was the only thing that could keep him there longer, or hopefully long enough, he finally yelled out, "I'm cursed, Panic! I'm cursed!"

That stopped Panic immediately. He turned his head towards the other demon and looked him in his red eyes. He began to believe him a little, he seemed to have an honest face.

"Really?" The skinny demon questioned.

"Yes," Dante answered unhappily. "That's why I've been stuck here for all these years. I wasn't sure to tell you earlier, 'cause I didn't know if you'd believe me or not."

It made sense to Panic, though he was still a little suspicious about it. "Who did this to you?"

"I wasn't sure who he was," Dante answered. "But he knew some powerful magic, and he rendered me powerless as well... You see, I used to be powerful and a hero, but one day, when I fought him, he put a curse on be just before he died. And now Im trapped here. Forever..." He lowered his head, and clasped his hands together, in sadness at the thought of that very day. Although it happened a little different from what he told Panic.

This had filled Panic with guilt, he wanted to leave before, but after hearing what Dante said, he felt more sorry for him. "I-Im sorry,"

Dante just shook his head. "It's not your fault, Panic." He flew back to the ground, expecting panic to fly off away from him. But instead, Panic followed, and stood beside him as he walked away.

"Wait," Panic said to Dante, he stopped in his steps and turned towards Panic. "Why did you lie to me before?"

"Like I just told you," Dante explained. "I've been here for so long now. Im lonely, Panic. I need someone; someone to talk to, to be with me. And when I first met you, I couldn't let you leave. Not yet." He turned to face Panic once again.

This time, he came closer to Panic, right up in his face to be exact, staring into those large yellow eyes, and holding Panic's hands, as well. "Just stay with me Panic, please," He begged. "just one more day."

He wasn't too sure about this, he had to get back to Hades and Pain very soon, but he couldn't just leave Dante in tears. Still, he thought, why not? It'll only be for one day.

Panic nodded his head. "Okay," A relieved smile spread across Dante's face. "But just for the day."

Dante was so happy about this, he immediately hugged Panic, tight, never wanting to let him go. Panic hugged him back. Oh, how badly he felt his urges rise, but he needed to control himself, he had just became friends with Panic, and didn't want to throw away his trust just yet.

By now, Pain was growing exhausted. He searched all over Athens, but there was no sign of his partner, Panic. Constantly, he kept calling out his name, but no luck from that. Where could he be? He thought to himself. Then he realized that maybe Panic wasn't here, he must've been blown farther away.

He's somewhere out there... But the question was, where?

There was no time to loose, he had to find Panic, and quickly. He had flown over the ocean for hours, and he saw nothing that would lead him to Panic at all, no islands, nothing. Still, he couldn't give up. He was going to find Panic, even if it meant crossing half the globe, he would find his friend, no matter what it took.

But just another hour later, he was very tired from flying. He needed to take a rest, to recover, before he would continuing his search for Panic. He landed on a dull almost-pointed rock that surfaced from the water. Sitting there, he wondered where Panic could've gone, and if Panic was looking for him as well...

Before asking any more questions in his head, he noticed to his right, an island not too far from where he was. Maybe Panic is there, he thought. The fat magenta demon flew over there, only to find it completely deserted, except for the small creatures that scattered along the hard sandy ground.

Pain had to head back to the underworld, Hades would be furious if him and Panic not only failed, but had stayed out longer than expected. No, he couldn't. At least, not yet. Only until he discovers where Panic is. There was no way he was going to leave his pal behind. After all, Panic would do the same and search for him as well.

Ready to give up, he dropped down and sat on the ground, staring out into the sea. "Where are you?" He asked softly. He sunk his head in his knees and elbows as he thought of his missing friend.

In the cave, Dante arranged some of the jars with what he'll need to cast the spell that'll return him to his normal form, he even got out some of the ones that he would need for his freedom of the damn island. As he was putting everything together, dropped to knees, hesitating his next actions. Is it worth it to hurt the one you love just for power? Even when he returns back to the way he was, he may never get off the island, since the last page in the book was torn out, he wasn't sure how to cast the right spell.

He sighed, got up, and headed for the outside_. It doesn't really __matter_, he thought to himself. _Besides, we all gotta make sacrifices __sometimes._ _I won't waste a perfect opportunity I've been waiting for all these years_. _After all, I'll still love Panic, always..._

He grabbed a near by knife, it was old and the blade was a bit dull, but it'll do. The demon rubbed his thumb against the sharp tip, he knew it was good enough for the job. Hopefully, Panic kept his promise and didn't leave yet. Dante flew up to the top and poked his head out of the entrance, which was the opening of the well, and saw Panic just standing on top of the grass hill, just staring off into the distance. "Perfect," Dante muttered, grinning. But somehow, Dante was surprised Panic kept his word. He expected him to leave him, going off to find his friend, but instead, he stayed, just like a good little boy.

Again, Dante went back down to check and see if everything was in place, and it all was perfect. This was the time to act, it was now or never, and he didn't have much time, for time was not on his side. Still, he felt his heart sink deep into his chest. It really hurt him for having to do this, but he wasn't going to go all "soft" now. No, not now, not ever. _No matter_, he thought to himself,_ Im ju__st a little nervous, that's all_. In a deep breath, he swallowed his emotions, he was ready. Everything was set, now he just needed the final piece of the puzzle, or so to speak, Panic.

"Panic," He growled softly, then lightly chuckled. "You are mine..."


	4. Chapter 3

**Demon Blood**

**Chapter III**

He wasn't sure how or when, but Panic knew that in no time he'll find Pain, at least he hoped. He began to wonder, what if he never found Pain. After all, he had absolutely no idea where he was, or how far away he was from Athens, and what about Pain? Was he as worried about Panic as he was of him? Is he looking for him right now? Of course he was, he's been partners with Pain long enough to know that, obviously, he never leave him behind.

Although, there was something in the back of Panic's mind that something was wrong. He wasn't sure if it was about Pain, or even Dante, but it was there, in his mind, trying to tell him something important. And randomly, he thought, maybe, it was about Dante. But it couldn't be, but it is possible. After all, he barely knew him, he had only spent less than two days with the demon. Even if he did sound honest, why would he lie to him in the first place? Was there something he was keeping from Panic? Was that it?

As he was trying to figure things out, feeling a faint summer breeze against his body, cooling off from the warm sun, the dark demon once again approached him from a short distance, both of his hands behind his back. He must not have noticed Dante watching him.

"Lovely day, don't you think?" Dante commented, without anything in mind he could say.

"It sure is," Panic replied. "How long were you standing there?"

Dante just smiled, and giggled. "Long enough to see just how cute you are when you're day dreaming." Panic lightly blushed. No one ever really told him anything like that, he felt very admired by Dante's comment. But in a second turned his head, looking the other way.

Dante came up to him, resting a hand on Panic's right shoulder, hiding the knife with his left hand behind his back. "What's wrong Panic?" Dante asked, then switching over to Panic's left side, still keeping the knife hidden. "Is it me? It's me, isn't it?"

"No," Panic said, gesturing a little. "No, not at all. It's just... I miss Pain. A lot. I can't stay here forever, even if I wanted to. Im too tied to my work in the underworld, anyway. Please try to understand, Dante. It's not you, it's me."

Dante didn't reply, instead stood there with an understanding look on his face. He smiled, nodding. "Sure," He put his left arm around Panic, the other responded, hugging him as well. Since this was going to be the last they'll see each other, or at least Panic thought so, he might as well have given him one last hug before saying goodbye.

Raising the knife in his right hand, he brought up his arm, preparing himself, before taking the last action, he whispered to where Panic's ears would've been.

"Im sorry..."

Then, quickly, he struck the knife hard into Panic's back, in response to the sharp pain in his back, and from the surprise of this, Panic gave out a loud shriek in pain, his back arched forward, he tried to push himself against Dante, hoping it'll loosen Dante's tight grip on his body. Small tears were coming out of Panic's eyes, as he attempted to free himself.

Finally, the black grinning demon let go of Panic, letting the teal demon to fall backwards, he began to roll down the hill uncontrollably, until he slowed down at the bottom. Whimpering from the unbearable ache in his back, he tried putting both hands on his back where he had been impaled by the knife. He turned to his left side, still lying on the the grass, noticing some of the blood stained grass in shock, it was all happening too fast for him. _What's going on?_ Panic asked to himself, frightened. _This can't be happening... It CAN'T be! What's going on!_

Hearing a sinister, psychotic laughter, he looked up to see Dante, holding a blood stained knife in his left hand, walking down the hill, towards Panic. His eyes grew bigger as he saw Dante's expression, that big grin, revealing those razor sharp, not to mention the horrifying look in his eyes. Truly a look of complete insanity, it was a frightening sight for Panic, he couldn't believe this, any of it! Panic scooted on the ground, trying whatever he could just to get away from this psycho.

He knew it was doing no good, then he got over on his front side, and began to try and drag himself away with his arms, but sadly, no avail, for Dante came closer and closer to Panic. Just as Panic got to his feet, he felt a hand gripping at his right arm, tight. "Your not going anywhere!" Dante spoke to his, his voice low and deep, like a lion's roar. He tugged Panic closer to him, now he was looking straight into Panic's eyes. Then he smirked. "Im not letting you leave just yet. You mean a lot more to me than you think, honey."

The dark demon, approached the well, still holding onto Panic, as the other struggled to free himself, which did no good, Dante was much stronger than he looked. Then he stopped right in front of it, and flew up to the top rim of it, looking down into the dark well, then back to Panic.

"What do you want from me!" Panic demanded. Dante didn't answer, he only giggled, rather madly than friendly, and continued speaking.

"Oh Panic, sweet, naive, little Panic, I shouldn't have to explain this to you, but if your really curious, let's just say... I really wouldn't want to waste a single drop of your precious blood." He shook his head. Panic didn't really catch onto what Dante meant.

"What are you talking about?" He asked Dante. "Wait, are you going to kill me? Well, you can't. Im not really mortal. Remember?"

"True," Dante agreed. "But your not really _immortal_, now are you? Because, I know a way to kill a demon." Dante laughed again, Panic shuddered. Then he brought up the knife once again, plunged it into Panic's back for the second time, just between where his wings were. Panic screamed again, he choked out a sob from the agony.

"Hush," Dante shushed Panic, putting a finger over his mouth, who was still whining from the wounds. "It'll all be over soon, my love."

Due to all the physical and emotional pain, Panic could only gasp out his next question. "Why?.."

"That, you don't really need to know, hon," Was Dante's only answer. "What does it matter anyway?" He positioned Panic in front of him, just about to shove him down the well, saying one last thing to him.

"Don't worry Panic, I still love you, and I always will!"

With that, he shoved him straight down the well, kicking him hard just before doing so. When Panic hit the rocky hard ground, he looked up to see a bit of sunshine blocked by Dante's silhouette. Then slowly, the entrance began to close up from Dante placing a very large circular rock over the opening. Panic flew up before it could close all the way, but it was too late, for it was completely blocked just when he was so close.

The skinny demon tried pushing it, hoping it would budge, unfortunately, it didn't do any good, he could only push it off through the other side. Nothing did any good, for it all seemed hopeless, he trusted Dante and got betrayed and back-stabbed, literally. He slowly landed on the hard ground, sitting there, on his knees, in his own self torment. _How could he?_ Panic asked himself. His vision became blurred by the tears in his eyes, blinking the tears away, while they ran down his face, he scanned the cave he was in. It wasn't clammy, at least, but it was very dim, and hard to see as well. When he turned around behind him, he screamed, jerking back a little, at the sight of a large crucifix, with a corpse so decomposed, it was left into bare bones. Obviously, Dante was hiding much more from Panic than he thought.

There wasn't much time, he said to himself in his mind. He knew that Dante would be back anytime soon, so he might as well explore the cave a little more before that bastard arrives. He noticed, near the corner, a few jars, and a large dark brown book, when he picked it up to look at some of the pages, it was so old, it was seemed ready to fall apart. Panic scanned through most of the pages to realize it was full of all kinds of spells and such, then another smaller book, close to the wall,caught his attention. Picking it up, he read through the pages to find out some of the awful secrets Dante had kept from him. Some of the words were hard to make out since it was written in blocky letters, plus he could tell this book was very old. The first page of it read:

_Entry I_

_All my life, I had been powerful, strong, feared by many, I had spread catastrophe nearly everywhere, I was a demonic beast, and I was unstoppable. But that was before one day, when I came to this island, Eikcaj, where I encountered the very asshole who pu__t this damn curse on me, just to 'save mankind'. Bullshit. Because of him, Im stuck here, alone and isolated, and the key to my freedom is out of my reach, in order to get rid of the curse, I need the blood of another demon. Worse yet, is that half the pag__e with the spell that'll set me free is torn out. I should've known. Well, at least I took care of that asshole for good... Now he is the least of my problems._

Panic's eyes widened just when he had found out about Dante's true colors (or so to speak). He looked over at the crucifix with the skeleton on it. _That must've been the guy_, Panic thought. Panic continued flipping through the umber brown pages, most of them were about how Dante began to go insane, and were full of rants, then he stopped at what appeared to be a recent and last entry.

_The final entry_

_I can't believe it, Im finally going to be free in no time, after all these years, but I can't harm the one I love. Sure, I only met him for a day, but I've gotten to know him, and I just can't harm him. But I can't stand it anymore, I've been going insane__ since I came here, I've cried nearly every night from the isolation in this fucking hell hole! besides Im going to have to tell him sooner or later, and even if I didn't, he'd figure it out eventually. But I promised myself I would find a way out. Maybe..__. Maybe I'll earn his trust and spend a day or two with him before I have to kill him. After all, I need another demon's blood, and he's just what Im looking for. Oh god, my first love and only love I've ever had, and I'll have to kill him or never see him__ again! But I love him, I don't to lose him just yet. No matter, I finally got the key to my freedom and power I've been waiting for decades. I will always love him, no matter what... Nothing will ever change that._

_This will be my last entry here, whether I succeed or not._

_- Dante_

He dropped the book out of shock, it fell to the ground, eyes wide open. He let Dante do this to him, he trusted him too early and it was all his fault he was in this situation. More tears came to his eyes, Panic couldn't help but cry. All this time Dante seemed so innocent, but looks can usually be very deceiving.

Then Panic quickly pulled himself together, now wasn't the time to break down, since there was nobody to save him now, he had to do something. He needed a plan; something that'll defeat Dante and get him out of there. So he grabbed the large book of spells, and looked carefully to find anything that would help him. And there was, for on one page had included a spell that could burn Dante alive. He got some of the necessary jars with the powders and clear liquid needed. taking one of the open jars, he poured out a trail of dull gray ashes and made it into a symbol that looked like an upside down star with an upside down cross between it, then he took some of the liquids that rank of a fowl odd odor, and sprinkled it all over the cave, following the proper arrangements for the incantation. Just when he was almost finished, he glanced over at the skeleton, that's where his second plan were to take place, he pulled the bones off the crucifix, and checked the ropes to see if they would hold, they seemed good enough.

Everything was in place, now, and he was ready. His attention quickly turned to the opening of the well, as he heard the sound of the rock move off the entrance. "It's time," Panic muttered, his expression now serious.

He dashed off to a part of the cave where it was just big enough for Panic to hide out of Dante's sight. He heard the other knave's hoofs hit the ground as he landed, but thankfully, for Panic, Dante had closed the entrance only half way. Still with the knife in his hand, he walked slowly toward the direction where Panic was, swishing his thin tail from side to side, shortly on his way, he noticed the skeleton missing from the crucifix.

"Now, c'mon Panic, baby," Dante said, smirking, as he looked for Panic, his call echoed through the hollow, dim cave. "You can't hide forever, you and I both know that. We all have to face our fates sometime in out life, I know I had to, sort of... But if you cooperate nicely, and maybe if your lucky, I might give you a little goodbye kiss." Dante had passed where Panic was hiding, not noticing him until he heard an aggravated voice behind him.

"'Kiss' _this_, you bastard!" Panic punched Dante, hard in the face, causing him to loose his balance, knocking him down, but not for long.

"How cute, you thought you could hurt me." Dante responded, in a teasing sort of tone. He lunged at Panic and struck the knife downward at him, making an angered sound, luckily panic dodged just in time. He grabbed a hand full of dark powder, when he felt Dante's hand catching his arm and pulling the skinny imp closer to him. "Now Panic, it's better just to get it over with!"

Just when Dante was about to stab him, Panic threw some of the powder into the dark creature's eyes. It stung his eyes very badly, he covered his eyes, almost dropping the knife, shrieking at the top of his lungs as he felt something like a thousand needles drilling into his eyes. Once he let go of Panic, the other scurried away quickly, hoping to find something that would set a fire. The beast took his hands off his eyes, which were now very bloodshot and burning with twinge, scanned the cave with an ugly sneer on his face, he just snarled in fury. A growl emerged from his throat, walking around angered, Panic wasn't anywhere in sight. His large ears pricked up as he listened quietly to his surroundings, listening very carefully... Then he heard light foot steps of hoofs against the stone ground, and whipped around to see Panic in the corner up against the wall. Dante grinned satisfied, now that he had Panic trapped, or so he thought.

"There's nowhere else to go, babe," Dante said, making of mockery of what could be Panic's defeat. Looking down, Panic noticed he had a bit of the strange liquid stained his feet. _Good_, he thought to himself, then he looked back up towards Dante. "As much as it pains me to do this, Panic, it's all over." He began to approach Panic, but stopped in his tracks, his eyes grew bigger, when Panic pulled out what looked like a toothpick with a little spark of fire on the tip. Looking around the cave, then to where he stood, he quickly caught onto Panic's plan, his ears stuck straight up from surprise.

Without hesitation, Panic dropped the piece of wood onto the cave ground, into the dust trail, and watched the large flames spread through nearly the whole cave, and setting a part of Dante's lower body on fire. Screaming, his mouth wide open, making his thick, long, pointed tongue, he tried escaping from the flames, but no avail. Before he could get away, Panic flew over, pinned Dante against the crucifix, used the ropes to tie his wrists against the large cross. Slowly, he backed away, and noticed the flames take on a blueish glow. It seemed a little odd, but Panic didn't pay much attention to it. Just before he left, he held the book of spells in front of Dante, then tossed it into the flames, and watched it burn away, of course the traitorous demon yelled out "NO!"

He turned to Dante, who was having half of him being burnt completely.

Then Dante gave out one last cry. "Panic, you bastard!" He cried in anger, as he struggled to free himself off the cross. "You fucking BASTARD! I swear I'll get you for this, I WILL GET YOU!" Panic flew out of the cave, a little bit out of fear of what Dante swore, squeezing through the tight space, closing the passage with the large rock, although it was very heavy, Panic managed to push it over the well, hoping that this would keep him in there. He could still hear Dante's faint cursing as he took off.

Finally, he had escaped at last.

He wasn't all too sure where to go, or how to get back to the Underworld, but he knew he had to start somewhere. He flew far out into the sea, he hoped to find Pain soon, there seemed to be an endless amount of ocean from what he could see. After a few hours, he needed a rest somewhere from flying so far, so he stopped at a small island close to him. When he landed on the shore, he signed and slumped against a large rock.

"Will this ever end?" He wondered.

"You know," Panic was surprised by what he heard, whipping around, he saw Pain standing some few inches from him. Pain continued. "I was about to ask the same thing." Pain had a relieved look on his face. He couldn't believe his eyes, Panic only stood there, his eyes widening, and his mouth hanging open, just in a few seconds, Panic ran over to his partner, bringing his arms around him, burying his head into the other's shoulder.

Panic had so much to say to him, like how me missed him so much, yet, he only sniffled and kept clinging onto him, never wanting to let his friend go; ever again.

"I know," Pain told Panic, his voice tone so soft and comforting. "I missed you, too." As he hugged his lost friend, he felt and noticed some of the blood and wounds on Panic's back, from where Dante had stabbed him. He pulled himself off of Panic to speak to him, concerned.

"What happened to you?" He asked.

Panic didn't want to remember what happened to him before. "Don't ask," He just kept staring into Pain's yellow eyes, now the two were just staring at each other happily while the sun was setting over the ocean, still holding onto to one another. Then after a long enough pause, Panic added in awkwardly, "Um, so... Do you still remember the way back to the Underworld?"

Pain only took Panic's hand and led him off the island they were on. "Yeah, I know the way back. Don't you?" They both flew off, on the way back to the Underworld, their home. Panic was so glad to be back with Pain, that a few tears of joy escaped from his eyes while they were flying, holding each other's hand. When Pain noticed, he just smiled as well. Panic knew Pain was just as glad as he was.

On the island, which Dante was still trapped on, in the well, the dark demon had managed to escape from the ropes, off the crucifix, slowly, he pushed the large rock off the well's opening. He crawled out, most of his lower body was slightly burnt, and there was ash from the fire all over his body, and his eyes still bloodshot from the powder Panic threw on him, and walked towards the sea, hoping to wash himself off, and relieve his eyes after getting the powder in them. The water may have been salty, but it was much better than nothing. He scooped up some of the water with his hands, and splashed them onto his face, then his eyes. Looking into the water, he saw what a wreck he was, then his expression changed from exhausted to furious, as he thought of Panic, and what the coward did to him.

"Panic," that name somehow escaped his lips. "You fucking little son-of-a-bitch..."

Not only had that coward ruined his plan and tried to set him on fire, but he got rid of the book, as well, the one thing that could've helped him. But no matter how angry he was at him now, he still tried to clean himself off with the salt water, as he wondered into the deeper part of shore, sinking his head. Just when he was a some yards away, he surfaced, gasping for air, turning his head around towards the land, realizing just how far he swam out from shore, the little demon flew out of the water, hoping that his theory was true. He had flown farther and farther from the island, to give out a loud "YES!" out of victory. He was free, at last. Somehow, Panic broke that curse without even intending to do so in the first place.

But he was still in his small form, not his original, that he needed to change, and soon. Though one thought was on his mind, and that was Panic. He wanted to get back to him, possibly for revenge... No, maybe not. But he never lets anyone get away with kicking him to the ground and keeping him there. They'd usually pay for it, dearly, eventually. But he still saw Panic as his friend and lover, and first thing was first, he had to return to his 'sweetie'.

"Oh baby," Dante said, grinning, just as he took off, as fast as his wings could carry him, on his way to the first place where he might find Panic: The Underworld. "Im coming home!" He let out a final menacing laugh as he soared off.

Little to Panic's knowledge, the nightmare wasn't over just yet, as he had hoped... In fact, this was only the beginning.

**END.**


End file.
